Røde Videomic

Short practical Røde Videomic field test
Videomic was pointed at the station through all tests, sound was recorded directly into the 7D.

Sequence of shots:

7D built-in mic

Røde Videomic

Røde Videomic: High Pass Filter

Røde Videomic: -10db

Observations:

Acceptable sound for general use

Much richer and warmer sound, lots of bass but also greater sound rendering

Less noticeable bass, still good sound quality

More audible hiss due to less volume overall

Conclusions:
The Røde Videomic is a great plus if you want decent to good audio on your DSLR.

It works as is meant isolating background noise and picking up sound from where it’s pointed at.
You can even hear the pump voice on the third shot — I was hoping to get some sound but not with this definition at this distance (10~15m) — was pleasantly surprised!

I’d say using -10dB (or even -20) is the way to go. 0dB is way too loud for a camera with AGC.

The hiss is a constant and more audible in less bassy conditions, but in this case in particular because the subject was far away (10~15m).
I’d assume in closer proximity situations the hiss would be hard to detect or barely audible.

The shockmount works great and the mic’s build quality (plastic) is good for its price (80~100 Euros).

The final shot

Hi there, welcome to my blog! I'm Filipe Varela, a designer at Automattic, and am passionate about photography and video. In this site I post photos from my journeys and daily ramblings — in sum, a slice of life. Browse through the archive or check the homepage for the latest posts.